Emotional Games
by musicchica10
Summary: She thought it was a love triangle, but she was wrong. Now everything was blown out of proportion and Arthur was at the end of Ariadne's wrath...Oneshot. A/A


**So this is a oneshot that I have been working on for a while. It's another one that I had a dream about, but I decided to change some of the things from the dream just because it seemed better to. I finally finished it! I hadn't worked on it because I was focusing on The End Is Not The End and now that I have finished that story, I figured I'd finish this oneshot. Hope you all like it. The characters may be out of character, but like I said, I had a dream about this, and I had to write it out like my dream. Although it did turn out longer than I had intended. Oh well, I guess that happens when you write. Anywho, please read and review! It means a lot to me! **

**I don't own Inception...just the plot of this oneshot...haha

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Ariadne hated emotional games, and that's exactly what she was going through. It was this crazy love triangle going nowhere and she was tired of it. She remembered her friends dealing with all the drama and she really wanted to avoid that, especially now that she's in graduate school. One would think that the drama ended once you reached college, but that was proven wrong by Ariadne's friends.

Having never been in this position before, she didn't really know what to do. She sighed and decided she would talk to Eames soon. She wanted to talk to him first and get it over with. If anything, he would be honest with her and she'd be able to understand just where they stood. After all they were adults, and adults could take about these things maturely.

The three of them were on a train. Ariadne was impressed with how nice it was. The coaches were separated so that if you wanted your own, you could buy one for the trip, which is exactly what they did since Arthur insisted on it. Ariadne fiddled with her scarf as she glanced ahead of her. Arthur was in the row in front of her and Eames. He was sitting quietly reading a newspaper.

Ariadne, finally gaining the courage to talk to Eames, bit her lip and turned to him.

"Hey Eames, you should teach me how to forge. And you should give me some tips on how to dress up like you. I would really like to learn how to forge. I think it could be useful, you know in case I ever needed to do it. And we could spend time together…" She looked at Eames expectantly.

Eames scoffed and looked at her, "Darling, people are MY specialty, forging is MY specialty. You're the Architect. I think you should stick with that." His voice and words were a lot harsher than he intended. Ariadne blinked in disbelief and stared at him as his face went from calm to shock to utter horror at his own words.

"Eames, I'm tired of this! Do you like me or not? Or am I just imagining that you have feelings for me? Because there are obvious signs, but maybe I'm just crazy." She stood up and stared at him intensely. Arthur, who was completely forgotten by now, sat there listening intently. His posture was stiff and tense and he frowned as he heard the pain in Ariadne's voice.

"Ariadne…" Eames sighed. That was all she needed to hear.

"Bye Eames." She stalked off angrily. Here she was acting just like her friends in highschool. She was disgusted with herself. The one thing she honestly thought she wouldn't do. She did. It was wrong. So wrong.

"Ariadne, wait!" Eames stood up to go after her, but Arthur blocked him.

He shook his head. "Don't. Just let her go."

Eames glared at Arthur and sat back down, looking over to where Ariadne stormed off.

Ariadne was furious, but she felt really stupid for acting the way she did. She knew Eames was a huge flirt, but so blatantly leading her on was wrong. She really didn't care that he didn't have feelings for her, in fact, she was relieved. It wasn't Eames she hoped would harbor feelings for her…

"Ari." Arthur's voice echoed in the quiet dining coach. She turned and looked at him, dozens of emotions evident on her face. Hurt, confusion, nervousness, relief.

"You ok?" He asked cautiously, walking over to her. She smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine." She replied. Arthur eyed her skeptically before nodding.

"Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. Eames is a flirt. I should've realized that. But I'm fine. Really." She told him and looked down, hiding a blush.

"Ok. Well what do you say we head back out then?" He motioned for her to follow him.

"Arthur wait!" She suddenly blurted out. Her eyes widened with her sudden outburst. There was no going back now. Ariadne knew she had to ask him now that she had his attention. He turned to her curiously. She tried the same approach that she did with Eames.

"Maybe you could show me how to pay attention to details. Like you…" She quietly asked.

Arthur stiffened and looked down, emotions flicking across his face for no longer than a second. When he looked up his face was expressionless, stoic, and a tad bit cold. Ariadne's heart dropped at his next words.

"Ariadne, I don't feel that way towards you."

She nodded curtly and walked back into their coach, ignoring Arthur's protests.

"Ariadne. Ari, please just listen to me." He sighed as he followed her, tucking his hand into his pocket and fingering his red dye. He really hoped this was a dream gone wrong instead of reality.

She turned around abruptly her scarf floating behind her as she turned. She glared at him, crossed her arms, and raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to say something.

Caught off guard, he didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth and closed it as she huffed and turned around.

"I get it Arthur. Forget this ever happened."

Arthur slumped and followed her, upset with himself for being able to lie to her like that. And not only lie to her, but hurt her too. He watched her grab her things and move to the seat farthest away from both Arthur and Eames.

"What happened?" Eames asked curiously. Arthur scowled at Eames.

"None of your business." Arthur sneered and pulled out his laptop.

"Ah." Eames replied knowingly. Eames knew that Arthur had feelings for Ariadne, but he was too stubborn to admit it or even take a chance with her. So he did the only thing he could to try to push Arthur to ask Ariadne out. He flirted with her in front of him. It may have been cruel, especially since Ariadne obviously got upset about it, but e was really trying to help both of them out. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Arthur chose to ignore Eames and focus on his research, but he found his mind and eyes wandering over to Ariadne. He noticed she was sketching and he couldn't help but think of what he said to her.

He let out a frustrated sigh and closed his laptop, standing up and stretching, he turned towards Ariadne. She didn't even look at him. Instead she pulled out her iPod and turned it up so loud both Arthur and Eames could hear it. Arthur flinched at the noise and glanced at Eames who was smirking.

Arthur tried to sit next to her and sort things out, but she ignored him completely. She knew she was acting immature, but the pain was too much for her to handle right now. All she wanted to do was zone out the world and forget about this embarrassing afternoon.

The rest of the ride back to the small house they were renting for the job was quiet, tense, and uncomfortable. Arthur couldn't focus on work, Eames felt guilty for hurting Ariadne, and Ariadne was beyond angry and hurt.

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Both Eames and Arthur hoped that Ariadne would cool off enough to talk to them, but to their dismay Ariadne only talked to them when necessary. If Arthur would ask her a question about her model or layouts, she would answer, explaining everything about it. But if he asked her how her day was, she would give a one word answer and head to her small bedroom, slamming the door behind.

"Gosh, looks like you really blew it Arthur." Eames said one day as he watched the exchange between Arthur and Ariadne.

"Shut up Eames." Arthur whispered, defeated. His shoulder slumped and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Arthur, she obviously likes you a lot. You telling her that you don't have feelings for her obviously broke her heart more than you thought it would. I just hope you didn't just destroy the one relationship you could have had." Eames bluntly told Arthur before patting his back sympathetically and walking off to his room.

Arthur sighed and let his head fall in his hands. He didn't know what to do. This was not easy for him. Dealing with women and relationships was NOT his forte. He could find out information on a person, plan out how the job would go, and shoot in gunfire both in and out of dreams, but he was not prepared for this. Handling delicate situations of the heart was something he had yet to learn.

When Yusuf joined them a week after they arrived at the house, he immediately sensed the tension, but didn't know what it was. While working all of them were strictly professional. Making comments and eye contact, answering questions, dreaming together. But once they were off clock, everyone seemed to be giving off a strange vibe.

"Where's Ariadne? Isn't she going to be joining us for dinner?" Yusuf asked as he, Eames, and Arthur were getting ready to find a place to eat.

Arthur scowled and mumbled, "She's not going to be joining us."

"Why?" Yusuf was genuinely curious, but Arthur just stalked off, not answering Yusuf.

Yusuf turned to Eames confused. Eames watched Arthur's retreating form before answering Yusuf.

"It seems the two lovebirds had a big fight. Well not really a fight. Arthur denied his feelings for her and poor Ariadne is taking it much harder than I thought. I think she's more angry than hurt at this point. With Arthur stealing a kiss from her in the second level of the Fischer job and all." Eames explained.

Yusuf shook his head and hid a small smile, but it didn't go unnoticed by Eames.

"What's with the smirk?"

"Sometimes these things take time. I think Arthur will snap first."

"My bets on Ariadne." Eames countered, crossing his arms.

"Is that a bet?" Yusuf raised his eyebrow and looked questioningly at Eames.

"Fifty dollars Ariadne will snap before Arthur." Eames haughtily declared.

"Deal." Yusuf shook Eames hand and grinned.

Eames was being sneaky. Yusuf never said anything about not getting involved with the two, so he was going to play dirty. He chose to fix things with Ariadne first. He really was getting tired of not seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, or even having a refreshing conversation with her.

"Ariadne darling. Let's talk things over." Eames tried reasoning with her. She glared at him and scoffed. He could tell she was annoyed, but he would keep bugging her until she caved.

"Come on dear. It's awfully lonesome and I miss your colorful conversations. Can't we be friends again?" Eames asked, looking at her innocently.

Ariadne sighed and stopped what she was doing, finally looking at Eames and smiling.

"Alright. Talk." Ariadne crossed her arms and tapped her foot playfully.

"I'm sorry about that love. You know I'm a flirt. Sometimes I can't help myself. Really. I never meant to lead you on or hurt you. You're like my sister."

"You flirt with your sister?" Ariadne asked making a face.

"What? No! I never said that!" Eames defensively exclaimed.

Ariadne broke into laughter. "I'm kidding Eames. It serves you right." She said seriously.

"Alright, I did deserve that." Eames grinned and held out his hand for her to shake.

"So we're ok?" He asked. Ariadne stared at his hand for a minute before taking it and giving him a firm handshake, but he quickly pulled her into a hug. She let out a surprised gasp, but hugged him back.

Arthur, who was watching the whole thing, frowned. Jealousy was slowly taking over and he didn't like it. Why did Ariadne give in so easily to Eames, but she won't even give him a second glance.

He sighed and got back to work, denying that Eames was getting to him and messing with his head. As he began doing some research, he found that his mind slowly began to wander to thoughts of Ariadne. She had given Eames a hug, she even forgave him. Arthur was really dying to get her to interact with him outside of the job. Sighing in frustration, he closed his laptop, with more force than necessary, and turned in for the night despite the early hour.

He took a hot shower, hoping to relax his muscles and take his mind off of the beautiful woman in the room across the hall. Unfortunately not even a hot shower and a couple shots of vodka could get his mind off the young architect.

As Arthur's eyes fluttered closed, his last thought was that he wished Ariadne's eyes wouldn't hold such a cold feeling when she looked at him.

_They were quick flashes. Her eyes were bright and smiling. Her smile was no longer a fake one that she offered because it was the polite thing to do. Her touch was gentle and loving. _

Arthur sat up, sweat dripping down his forehead. That was the first time he had dreamed in years. Not only did it seem so real, but it also brought him back to the harsh reality that Ariadne wasn't talking to him. She wasn't smiling at him. Her eyes weren't shining and happy to see him, and most of all she wasn't touching him.

He rubbed his face and exhaled loudly. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there before deciding to head out for a walk. Hopefully it would help clear his head. He quickly dressed, putting on some expensive jeans and a button up shirt. He grabbed his trench coat and headed out, being sure to stay quiet so the others didn't hear him leave.

He walked around for about half an hour before he spotted a bar. It seemed nice enough and he really needed a drink so he made his way there, his soft footsteps the only noise heard on the dark streets. He looked around as he walked in and noticed that there were a lot more people out than he expected. He quickly took a seat at the bar and ordered a scotch.

After receiving his drink he allowed himself to observe the people in the room. He slowly let his eyes take in all the details. There was a young couple sitting in a booth towards the back of the room. They looked happy, holding hands and laughing. He scowled internally and quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.

Arthur stiffened as he noticed a familiar face flirting with a few unknown men. She was laughing and her face was flushed, obviously from the drinking she had done. Arthur had always thought of Ariadne as a lightweight and didn't expect to see her here at the bar flirting with men she didn't even know. Yet here she was.

Arthur decided that leaving her alone would be the best. If she needed help or seemed to be in trouble, he'd go get her. To his dismay, she was quite touchy with the men, one in particular. Arthur was becoming furious. She was drunk and becoming even more drunk by the minute and this guy was taking advantage of her. He could tell that Ariadne was aware of this and was becoming uneasy and he watched as she stood up and began to leave.

The man, angry that she would just get up and walk away, grabbed her roughly and almost instantly Arthur was there. It was as if it was an instinct to protect her, even though things weren't going well between the two.

The man became angry and he began yelling at Arthur.

"Who the hell are you?" The man slurred as he stumbled and turned to Arthur.

"Calm down." Arthur raised his hand to the man and carefully pushed Ariadne behind him.

"Calm down! You come in here and try to steal my girl and you're telling me to calm down?" The man shouted.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but the man slugged him on the jaw, causing Arthur to stumble backwards. He quickly regained his composure and swung back at the man, hitting him and causing him to collapse on the ground.

Arthur quickly guided Ariadne out of the bar, paying for his and her bill. He hailed a taxi and helped Ariadne get in, hoping that she would talk to him soon.

The ride was quiet and when Arthur dared to look at Ariadne he saw that she was asleep. He sighed, knowing that it would be better to talk to her when she was sober anyways. He closed his eyes and waited until the cab pulled over to open them. He paid the driver and carefully lifted Ariadne out of the cab, not wanting to wake her. He laid her in her bed, took off her shoes, and pulled the covers over her, knowing full well that in the morning she would have a horrid hangover.

Arthur brought her a glass of water and some aspirin and set it on the table next to her bed. Not wanting to leave her alone, he sat on the couch and laid down, staying the night in her room. He didn't fall asleep immediately, instead he watched her.

Her breathing was coming in slow deep breaths and her mouth was slightly parted. Her normally well-groomed hair was splayed about her, tangles forming in some spots. Her soft smile was the last thing he saw before he succumbed to sleep.

Ariadne opened her eyes slowly. The bright lights hurting her eyes and the small movement of looking at the clock causing her head to pound. She groaned and squinted her eyes, noticing the glass of water and bottle of aspirin waiting for her on her table. She reached out for them and looked around, not remembering what had happened last night.

She gasped when she saw Arthur's sleeping form on the small couch in her room. She vaguely remembered Arthur getting into a fight, but most of the night was a blur. Disgusted with herself, she took three pills, and drank the water, hoping her headache would go away soon.

As she moved to sit up she saw Arthur stir and open his eyes. He stared straight at her and smiled. He sat up and continued to stare at her, waiting for her to start the conversation.

She opened her mouth and closed it, blushing as she looked down. She didn't know where to start.

"Um…thanks. For last night. I don't really remember much of what happened." She admitted and grimaced.

"You're welcome. It was actually quite the coincidence that I found you. I happened to walk into the bar that you were in." Arthur replied softly.

"What happened?" Ariadne asked, wanting to know what she got herself into. She was always a terrible drunk. Getting into trouble, doing stupid things. She was almost embarrassed to find out what she did.

"When I got there you were surrounded by a few men." Arthur started off.

"Oh gosh." Ariadne mumbled and buried her face in her hands. "I was flirting wasn't I?" She asked and looked at Arthur who nodded sympathetically at her.

"You got up to leave after one guy started to take advantage of you and he grabbed you roughly. I got angry and tried to get you out of there without any trouble. Unfortunately the man had a bad temper, took a swing at me. Thankfully he was too drunk to keep his balance, so after I hit him he stumbled and fell back."

"He hit you? Oh my gosh Arthur. You could be bruising!" Ariadne cried, making her way over to him and examining his face. She took his head in her hands and carefully looked at his jaw, where it was turning purple.

Arthur was frozen, staring at Ariadne in shock. She blushed and quickly let go of his face.

"You need some ice." Ariadne said before getting up.

"It's ok. It can wait." Arthur dismissed, causing her to freeze where she was.

"Arthur, what are you doing in here?" She finally asked the question that was weighing them both down.

"Ari…I am so sorry for what I said a few weeks ago. I didn't mean it." Arthur blurted out, not expecting himself to be so honest with her.

Ariadne stared at him in shock before her face softened. She took a seat on the bed, sitting directly across from him. She brought her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

"I don't know how to handle relationships. I mean I have had a few in the past, but they all ended badly, and after seeing what happened to Dom and Mal, I was afraid. So I took the 'easy' way out. It turned out it wasn't so easy. Not having you smile at me, talk to me, laugh with me, it was all so much more worse than what could go wrong if I allowed myself to give in and be with you." Arthur stopped talking and stared into Ariadne's eyes.

She brought her legs down and stood up, stepping in front of him and kneeling down so that she was eye level with him. Slowly and sweetly she brought her lips to his. The gentle, chaste kiss was nothing like the Fischer one. This one was filled with so much more emotion and both knew that there was no turning back now.

Ariadne broke the kiss and pulled away, resting her forehead against his and exhaling.

"I'm sorry I was so cruel to you. I could have handled it better, but I was so hurt. I'm sorry." She whispered, her eyes till closed. Arthur shook his head and pulled her back to him, his lips crashing into hers.

Their third kiss was much more passionate and heated. It was filled with need and want. Both of them were so into the kiss that they didn't hear the exchange between Eames and Yusuf.

"I told you she'd make the first move! Hand it over." Eames cheered and held out his hand to Yusuf. Yusuf pulled out a fifty from his wallet and handed it to Eames exasperated.

"How the hell did you know that she would make the first move?" Yusuf asked.

"Because I am the ultimate conman and manipulator. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened." Eames smirked.

"That's cheating! I want my money back!" Yusuf protested.

"Ah, but we shook on it. So unfortunately I get to keep your money. That should teach you not to make a bet with a forger." Eames cheekily replied as they both turned to continue to watch the two in the bedroom.

"If things start getting too heated, we're leaving." Yusuf mumbled as they peeked into the bedroom.

"Yeah, yeah." Eames waved Yusuf off and grinned to himself, glad that Arthur and Ariadne finally gave in to each other.

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**Oh Eames, you sly dog you...haha. He had the whole thing planned all along...well maybe he didn't know the EXACT events that would happen, but he was trying to get them together. Haha...so what'd you think? I'll be starting a new story soon, but I want to get at least three chapters done before I post it. Be on the look out for it! :D Reviews are love! 3**


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